1. Another difficult week for me. Work feels like a slow-motion train wreck at the moment. But on the plus side I reviewed my financial situation and realized that I'm not really very worried about losing my job, so that took some of the edge off. 2. One of the things that really stood out … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Mostly More ‘Death Note’ and a Few Videos
On Writing
‘Death Note’ Quick Thoughts
I finally finished Death Note the other night. Overall, it's very good, and definitely a part of the modern canon, and the protagonist is the one of the more hateful, soulless characters I've encountered. However, I do think the first third-to-half of the show is by far the best part, and that it definitely falters … Continue reading ‘Death Note’ Quick Thoughts
Lighting for Writers
Picture this; you're writing a climactic scene in the Great American Novel. You eagerly describe the awesome cool sword-fight pitting the tortured, but handsome police detective against the evil, but even hunkier vampire in the night-shrouded cemetery, while the blonde-haired and surprisingly comely anthropology student watches with baited breath from her position bound to a … Continue reading Lighting for Writers
Friday Flotsam: Another Content Strike, History, and Gross Sex Scenes
1. First and foremost: The Wisdom of Walt Disney got another content strike against it. I sent Amazon a reply with the case number of the previous content strike and the fact that they cleared it. So, hopefully it'll get cleared up again soon, and in the meantime only the Kindle edition is available for … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Another Content Strike, History, and Gross Sex Scenes
Words of the Saints: St. John Henry Newman
Today's the Feast of St. John Henry Newman, so I'm going to offer another nugget of wisdom from the great Saint. The words below are all his. WHEN a "Catholic Literature in the English tongue" is spoken of as a desideratum, no reasonable person will mean by "Catholic works" much more than the "works of … Continue reading Words of the Saints: St. John Henry Newman
Review: ‘The Guardian Cycle, Vol. 1: In Dreams and Other Stories’
Anyone whose been following her blog or catching her entries in different anthologies over recent years will have been wondering when Caroline Furlong was going to favor us with a book of her own. At last she has obliged with this rich little collection of imaginative, emotionally taught short stories. (Full disclosure, I served as … Continue reading Review: ‘The Guardian Cycle, Vol. 1: In Dreams and Other Stories’
Friday Flotsam: Ember Days, RPGs, and ‘Bofuri’ Season 2
1. Last full week at work. One of my assignments was to make a particular alteration in the code. It was a matter of changing a single parameter in Javascript. It then took over a day to get it approved and pushed through for testing. Probably this is something that happens all the time in … Continue reading Friday Flotsam: Ember Days, RPGs, and ‘Bofuri’ Season 2
Thought of the Day: Challenging
‘Challenging’ (when applied to a non-interactive work or aspect of a work) is one of those compliments that seems to me to say more about the critic than the subject: what does it mean that a piece of fiction is ‘challenging’? Whom does it challenge? Why is this challenge a good thing? Is the challenge … Continue reading Thought of the Day: Challenging
Writing Historical Characters
The film Cinderella Man came up on the Castalia House blog the other day. The film, just so we’re all clear, is the story of James Braddock, a slightly-over-the-hill boxer during the Great Depression whose career had seemed over, until he suddenly returned to the ring with a series of stunning victories, culminating in him … Continue reading Writing Historical Characters
Thought of the Day: Most Important Authors
My preliminary picks for the five most important authors of the 20th Century: -J.R.R. Tolkien-Edgar Rice Burroughs-Agatha Christie-Raymond Chandler-H.P. Lovecraft (A case could be made for H.G. Wells, except that his most important works were almost all written at the tail-end of the 19th century)
Serpent's Den 